Anger as Britain secretly sells off its stake in Aldermaston nuclear bomb factory to U.S. firm

Controversial: CND protesters outside the now privatised Aldermaston site

Britain has secretly sold its last remaining stake in the production of its nuclear warheads to an American firm in a bid to boost Treasury coffers.

The revelation that the Government has cashed in on its one-third stake Government Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) was met with anger by MPs.

Tories and Liberal Democrats fear the production of warheads for the Trident nuclear deterrent and its planned replacement could now be in American hands.

They are also concerned that state-owned British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) sold off AWE to California-based Jacobs Engineering at below market price,

And ministers face accusations of trying to ‘bury’ bad news by quietly posting details of the sale on the BNFL website.

No statement to parliament was made and officials refused to say how much the deal raised.

And Gerald Howarth, the shadow defence minister, told The Independent: ‘The AWE is critical to Britain’s nuclear deterrent capability and we find it astonishing that the decision regarding the increase in U.S. involvement in the company was not announced to Parliament.

‘It is now imperative that the Government spells out its understanding of the implications of this move for the United Kingdom and our nuclear deterrent.’

Richard Bacon, a Conservative member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said the sale raised ‘national security questions.’

And Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said: ‘The whole argument used for Britain having a separate weapons establishment is that this is required by the non-proliferation treaty, as technology sharing is not allowed.

‘We must therefore query the rationale of a U.S. company having a majority shareholding in AWE. How does this all square?’

Americans now have a controlling stake in the AWE,

Lockheed Martin, the U.S. defence giant, and Serco, a British firm, also each own a third of shares.

The AWE factories, based at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire, employ 4,500 staff and more than 2,000 contractors,

The Ministry of Defence insisted Britain’s strategic interests had been protected in the deal.

A spokesman said: ‘It is the UK Government not AWE that sets the UK’s nuclear policy.

‘UK sovereign interests remain protected at all times, as does the independence of the UK deterrent. The safe operation of AWE will remain unaffected by the sale.

‘The MoD worked closely with colleagues in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and British Nuclear Fuels during the sale process to ensure that UK strategic interests were taken into account.'